Sometimes, a song is written with a particular artist in mind, but, for whatever reason, that artist decides to pass on it (for example, Jake Owen passed on the Shelton single “She’s Got a Way With Words” because he didn’t want his ex-wife to think it was about her); other times, an artist puts a song on hold, then decides it's not quite the right fit after all. Either way, a number of country music's best-known and most-loved songs almost sounded a whole lot different.

Scroll through the photo gallery above to learn more about some of the famous country songs that almost went to other artists.